logo
episode-header-image
Jun 2023
27m 36s

Myanmar’s war in the air

Bbc World Service
About this episode

Russia is supplying the Myanmar military with advanced fighter jets and training their pilots how to use them in a war against their own people. More than two years on from the coup, the country’s military is facing a countrywide armed uprising and their troops are struggling to hold ground and recruit foot-soldiers. So, the strategy is turning increasingly to the air with devastating consequences. BBC’s Asia editor Rebecca Henschke follows those fighting back on the ground and in the air. And meets defectors from the airforce who give exclusive insight into the strategy and psychology behind those operating these deadly machines.

(Photo credit: Free Burma Rangers)

Up next
Today
World Cup superfans
The most watched sporting event in the world has not been without its controversies, including high ticket prices and transport costs, as well as rows over visas and concerns about security. But, we wanted to hear from supporters. We bring together three world cup super-fans, inc ... Show More
23m 33s
May 2
Mapping Epstein's global connections
The personal correspondence, photographs and papers of the late convicted sex offender and financier Jeffrey Epstein have been released to the public in stages, beginning in December 2025, after an almost unanimous vote in the US Senate. The released files run to three and a half ... Show More
26m 29s
Apr 25
Inside the Mugabe dynasty
Late Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe died in 2019, but in the years before and since his death, his three children with his former wife, Grace, consistenly made headlines for all the wrong reasons. In April 2026 Bellarmine Mugabe pled guilty to a firearms offence in South Afri ... Show More
26m 29s
Recommended Episodes
Jun 2024
The Army of Poets and Students Fighting a Forgotten War
<p><i>Warning: this episode contains descriptions of injuries.</i></p><p>Myanmar is home to one of the deadliest, most intractable civil wars on the planet. But something new is happening. Unusual numbers of young people from the cities, including students, poets and baristas, ha ... Show More
26m 10s
Feb 2024
What’s behind the civil war in Myanmar?
It’s been three years since Myanmar’s military coup when the army took control of the country, a decade after agreeing to hand power to a civilian government. A civil war broke out after the after the military used lethal force to put down mass protests in the weeks after the cou ... Show More
15m 48s
Nov 2023
What Threat Does the Rebel Offensive in Myanmar Pose to the Junta?
<p>In this episode of <em>Hold Your Fire</em>!, Richard is joined by Crisis Group’s Myanmar expert Richard Horsey to talk about the offensive launched by the Three Brotherhood Alliance, comprising three ethnic armed groups, that has made rapid advances against Myanmar’s military ... Show More
40m 47s
Dec 2012
Burma
Lucy Ash asks what the explosion in popular protest over a Chinese-backed copper mine says about changes in Burma and asks if this is a test case for the government's commitment to democratic reforms. Farmers' daughters Aye Net and Thwe Thwe Win have led thousands of villagers in ... Show More
28m 13s
Apr 2022
Defecting online: How soldiers are deserting the Burmese army
Myanmar has been engulfed by a civil war which is getting deadlier and more violent as time goes on. Last year the Tatmadaw – the Burmese armed forces – overthrew the civilian-led government, led by Aung Sun Suu Kyi. Now they’re acting with impunity, allegedly committing heinous ... Show More
22m 3s